Mar 2018 - Free Route procedures implemented by Italian air navigation service provider (ANSP) ENAV led to savings of around 30,000 tonnes of fuel from flights over Italy in 2017, saving approximately 95,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions. The procedure - the first to be implemented by one of the larger European ANSPs, claims ENAV - permits aircraft flying over Italian airspace at an altitude exceeding 11,000 metres (36,000 feet) to choose a direct, shorter path without having to follow the route network. ENAV says as a result of the benefits, a number of new routes began crossing Italian airspace in 2017. It is now working on lowering the Free Route altitude to 9,000 metres (29,500 feet) by this summer, almost four years earlier than indicated in a European directive. “In order to deploy Free Route, we invested in technology and in training our air traffic controllers, who confirmed their strong professionalism,” said ENAV CEO Roberta Neri.